News & Events

Law Student White Price '06 Honored by Minnesota Justice Foundation

Nov. 11, 2014

Martha White Price '06

Law student Martha White Price ’06 has been named an Outstanding Service Award winner from the Minnesota Justice Foundation (MJF).

Incorporated in 1982 by Minnesota law students who were concerned about their role within the community, the MJF aims to link volunteer law students with opportunities to assist attorneys in meeting the legal needs of the low-income community. The MJF has student chapters at four Minnesota law schools, including the University of St. Thomas School of Law, where White Price is a student.

The Outstanding Service Awards were established in 1991 to recognize those who have demonstrated a commitment to the community through public interest and justice work. A student from each local law school is honored each year for showing exemplary service in these opportunities.

Nominated by a professor, White Price was honored for her commitment to bringing legal access to rural communities and small towns. She majored in philosophy as a student at Illinois Wesleyan.

White Price first began volunteering as an intake clerk with MJF during her first year of law school. Later she became a trained instructor through the MJF Street Law Program, for which she taught junior high and high school students about their legal rights.

During her second year of law school, White Price began volunteer clerking for the Minnesota Third Judicial District Public Defender. “I became certified as a student attorney and represented clients in court under the supervision of senior attorneys,” White Price said. “To date I have represented clients in arraignments, contested omnibus hearings, settlement conferences and pretrials.”

White Price, who is also interested in rural law, was recruited to be a participant in the Advanced Misdemeanor Clinic. “I assisted the part-time public defender by meeting with clients and representing them in arraignments and pre-trial hearings,” she said.

White Price’s next assignment includes assisting a district judge in the creation of a Drug Court.

“Initially I had hoped to be a family attorney,” said White Price. “But clerking in the Third District was a game changer. I love criminal law and working in public defense.”